U.S. taking steps to get Iran behave like normal nation, says Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Trump administration is intensifying pressure to "get Iran to behave like a normal nation." Pompeo spoke to reporters Monday in Finland following the administration's decision to move an aircraft carrier group ahead of schedule to the Middle East from the Mediterranean in response to what it said were threats of a possible attack on US or allied interests by Iran.

The larger pressure campaign has included withdrawing from an Obama-era nuclear deal, reimposing sanctions and designating the Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation. The secretary said the measures are intended to stop Iran from a range of activities that include sponsoring terrorist organisations that launch missile attacks on Israel or building missile systems in Yemen to assist rebels in that country's civil war.

"Our objective is to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to behave like a normal nation," he said. "When they do that, we will welcome them back."